A first look at new the Hightown development

THE first images of the new development at Wrexham’s demolished Hightown flats have been unveiled.

Scores of potential tenants were given a preview of what the stylish new affordable homes might look like at an open day yesterday.

In 2009 the council gave the go-ahead for the demolition of the five blocks of five-storey apartments which were plagued by a catalogue of structural problems.

The authority could not afford to spend £17.5 million on a major facelift of the 181 flats and maisonettes built in 1970.

Councillors therefore opted to bulldoze the whole complex to make way for affordable housing.

Wales & West Housing Association, which is carrying out the massive £15 million redevelopment plan, staged an open day at the area’s community centre yesterday.

The aim was to show artist’s impressions of how the new homes might look and to gain feedback from potential tenants.

The whole development will include a total of 149 homes on two adjacent sites, with 92 proposed for Kingsmills and about 57 for Rivulet Road.

These will range from one-bedroom flats to four-bedroom houses.

Rents will range from £62-£93 a week plus service charges for communal areas and eventually, tenants will be offered the option to buy their homes.

Also included in the plans are a new community centre, replacing the existing building on Brynycabanau Road, and a medical facility for the community.

Many of the construction workforce will be drawn from the local area according to the terms of the agreement Wales & West has with the council.

Just over £5 million of the development costs will come from a Welsh Government social housing grant while the remaining £9 million will come from Wales & West.

Rivulet Road is due for completion in April 2013, with Kingsmills being finished by November that year.

Housing association spokeswoman Sarah Manners said: “We had 68 people attending the open day in the first two hours and everyone who saw the plans was very excited by them.”